First build

As they were cheap. I've ordered front and rear Raleigh cable hangers. Hopefully they'll do the trick.

Yep, you need those. Tektro has them, so does surly. I use this
http://www.wiggle.com/surly-long-rear-cable-hanger/
And this generic crappy thing. I had to file off the little lump because my fork doesn't have the slot in the steerer. Ymmv.
[edited out the huge image]
A fork mounted front cable hanger could also work and may reduce fork jitter when braking (you will find out about this in due time).

Still waiting for cable hangers to be delivered.

In the meantime. I've fixed the headbadge by wrapping the head tube and badge in a cloth before tapping both sides of the badge a few times with a blunt object.

I'll post up some more photos once I have the cable hangers and they're in place.

Got the front cable hanger today and although it fits, if I tighten it up it then fowls on the steering.

Thinking of just adding a few small washers between the cable hanger and the forks to provide sufficient clearance.

Is this a workable solution?

So the front hanger is on. A single M6 washer did the trick.

You're talking about a fork mounted hanger right? The one you install where calipers breaks would go.

edit: after 7 months I see that I have misspelled brakes. I will leave it and let history judge me.

Yeah. I had bought the one you linked to.

Was just concerned that by putting in another washer I'd somehow upset something.

First build so I didn't want to £#%( something up. Spot of googling showed this should work.

Anyhow just waiting on the rear to arrive and then I can think about lacing up the brakes.

Can't believe it's been 7 months since I last posted which I'm blaming on working abroad and travelling.

Anyhow I've finally gotten around to putting on new tires (relatively straightforward) and lacing up the brakes (which as always wasn't quite as easy as I'd hoped).

Got some cables and after hacking them to size with my electrical wire cutters managed to get the rear cable back through the housing (which was a PITA) and fitted.

Moved on to the front only to find that the straddle cable/yoke that came with the shimano brakes was too long and as such hit the underside of the cable hanger and wouldn't allow the pads to reach the rim.

Decided to get another yoke and after a bit of messing around / adjustment I've got that fitted as well.

Both brakes appear to work as expected but the proof will be when I finally get the bike on the road for a shake down to see that everything's OK.

Only other thing I've done since my last post was to fit a Brooks saddle which looks quite good.

Hoping to get back from work early enough tomorrow to finally go out and see how the bike performs.

Maiden voyage over and the bike rides quite well.

I think I could do with adjusting the seat to tilt it forward a bit (or should that be to make sure it's level) and possibly to remove the outer chain ring (which I won't use) but other than that it goes and stops well.

Been a long time coming but I'm quite happy with the results :-))

i'm on my first build at the moment, but want to have a go at painting myself, doing a super budget build, before i get myself hooked. just wondering how much a professional powder coat costs. did you strip it down to bare metal yourself?

sort of depends on the paint and what you choose.

i got a frame powdercoated at armourtex fairly recently, with a matt paint.

you don't need to use nearly as much paint for matt, so it's a lot cheaper, plus no lacquer makes it even cheaper. think it was around 80£, great job and super quick turn around. nice guys too.

if you want sparkles and gloss lacquer it will cost more.

current price list sounds cheaper than what i got....

Mine was only £48 and that included all prep work, getting the frame and forks in different colours and having the sparkles added.

For me it was cost effective as my frame was quite rusty and it meant I didn't have to remove the rust or do any prep work.

If I was doing another I'd not blink at getting it done but you may have a better starting point than me frame wise and if so spraying would be your cheapest option.

Edited to correct price which was £48